How do we know what other people think?

A recent study found that reading fiction improved adults’ ability to figure out what other people are feeling. Knowing what other people feel or think is a skill psychologists call “theory of mind” and it turns out to be an important part of social interaction. Theory of mind begins developing in infancy, and it continues improving throughout childhood.

One of the goals of the MSU MAP project is to better understand how the development of theory of mind relates to children’s thinking about their own knowledge.

Although we don’t know whether reading fiction also improves children’s theory of mind, there is plenty of evidence that reading has other benefits for children thinking and reasoning skills. Looking for good books to read with your child? Check out the New York Public Library’s recent list of 100 great children’s books: http://www.nypl.org/childrens100

Comment below with some of your favorite children's books!

Picture of the Week!

Below is a picture of our child-friendly waiting room here at the KID Lab. 

Delayed Gratification

As children develop, their ability to wait longer for greater rewards increases. Older children are better able to resist having a smaller reward now to obtain a bigger reward later. This is called delayed gratification, and it’s a process that we often use throughout our daily lives. Specifically, the ways in which children think about the rewards and handle their desires become more sophisticated, allowing them to wait longer periods of time when faced with such choices.

The MSU MAP project looks at behaviors and thought processes similar to delayed gratification in children ages five to seven. We hope to better understand how such behaviors and thought processes develop, as well as how they’re related to parenting behaviors, patterns of brain activity, and a range of other factors. Understanding how children think and develop is important in order to create better learning environments to provide children with more positive outcomes throughout childhood and beyond.

Below is a fun video explaining the concept of delayed gratification.